China outlines plan for crewed Moon landing before 2030

China has outlined a plan to land astronauts on the Moon before 2030, using two Long March 10 launches and a rendezvous in lunar orbit, according to officials at a conference in Beijing on October 31, 2026. The mission remains a target, with a sequence of uncrewed tests planned before any crewed flight. Wang Xiang, deputy chief designer of China’s crewed space program, described a mission in which one rocket would carry the Lanyue lunar lander and another would carry the Mengzhou crew spacecraft. The vehicles are expected to meet and dock in lunar orbit. Three astronauts would travel aboard Mengzhou; two would transfer to Lanyue and descend to the surface, while the third remained in orbit. The two astronauts on the surface are expected to use a Tansuo rover. After their surface work, they would return to Lanyue, ascend to lunar orbit and rejoin Mengzhou for the journey back to Earth. The plan includes a rover on China’s first crewed lunar landing mission. The roadmap sets out several uncrewed steps. An early 2027 test is planned for the Long March 10A and Mengzhou spacecraft in low Earth orbit. A Long March 10 flight carrying Lanyue is targeted for 2028 and is to test the...